Crane Club definitely seems like it is for the see-and-be-seen type of crowd. For starters, Tao Group Hospitality owns it—the same flashy hospitality group dominating the "clubstaurant" category. Additionally, the restaurant has already garnered significant celebrity sightings—it hosted Pharrell's Met Gala after-party this year. But once you step inside the grand dining room and take just one bite of chef Melissa Rodriguez's cooking, you'll immediately experience the draw for yourself.
The vibe: Draped in white curtains, Crane Club is a bird that likes to hide its beauty. But once you walk inside, this elegant fowl will graciously open its wings to you, inviting you to gaze upon its handsome interiors and clientele. Framed by burgundy curtains, the Art Deco hall is a grand affair with arched ceilings and red velvet accents of all kinds—booths, chairs, you name it—giving the room equal parts drama and sex appeal. Even the bar, with its intentionally lowered ceilings to let the dining room shine, makes us blush all the same with its crimson booths and scalloped light fixtures that give a soft glow. The crowd buzzes with all types, young, pretty twenty-somethings that flit about to the older sixty-somethings that deal in cognac and cigars. All of it spells money, which you kind of need to afford a meal here.
The food: This restaurant marks the first time that chef Melissa Rodriguez has strayed from her traditional French and Italian cooking. So it may be hard to define what it is—some would say a seasonal spot, while others say a steakhouse. But what you can tell is that she had fun with it. Really, just take a look at the bread basket. Or rather, take a bite of it as the bread basket with slices of focaccia, sourdough and pillowy, cheesy biscuits sit in an edible tray. Rodriguez follows with an expert display of pasta—the silky sweet squash found in the Casoncelli deserves an underline on the menu—and the roasted bone marrow is just as decadent, fire-roasted and lashed in a sweet and savory bacon and marsala marmalade. Several of the dishes here revolve around the 12-foot Mibrasa grill, one that Rodriguez personally designed for the restaurant. So, you may as well order a steak, be it a bone-in ribeye or the Parmigiano Reggiano-Aged NY strip steak, which still retains that telltale funk of cheese. But even her vegetables shine with the sweet potato performing the sweetest of songs. Coal-roasted in the embers of the fire, the caramelized Japanese sweet potato is topped with a blend of whipped honey, tamari butter, and piped on rounds of mascarpone, making it somehow taste like the holidays, no matter the time of year.
The drinks: Behind the bar, you'll find a blend of classics with housemade creations that fall within the $22 to $26 range. There are plenty of wines by the glass or bottle that the attentive suit-jacketed staff are more than ready to recommend. But perhaps the most eye-popping of them all is the Vintage Vesper 1953. The go-to drink of James Bond, the Crane Club pays homage to the drink to a T, as the bar secured a bottle of Kina Lillet. This bitter, quinine-heavy liqueur is notable for two reasons: it was referenced in the iconic 1953 novel and that formula is no longer in production. Stirred with gin and vodka from the 1950s, the cocktail comes in at the modern-day price of $350.
Time Out tip: Psst...this little birdy hides a secret. And that secret is a burger. Chef Rodriguez only makes 12 dry-aged burgers a night, serving it with white cheddar, preserved tomato and a patty so thick and juicy they bleed into the bun. You can only get it at the bar between 5:30-6pm. So walk in, find a seat and order it while you can.